Herbal Incentive
by NightmareWalker
Summary: Maura pulled a small, sealed bag and paper roll from within and set to methodically rolling the sweet smelling herb in the paper. She felt her body immediately begin to relax, and with the first inhale, she smiled. She held the smoke for a few seconds before releasing it in a cloud above her head and opened a window. Unexpected Rizzles! T for content (marijuana wink wink)


Hey, guys, apologies for not posting before now; work has been a bear and I've started a new job on top of that. Anyway, quite a few of you have expressed interest in an extension to Roadside Assistance which will be worked on, I just haven't had the time to do it yet. I've barely had time to write a few thousand words since last week, which sucks since I've got so many ideas right now. Until then, here you go!

Read on!

* * *

Maura rubbed at her temples, groaning quietly in the privacy of her office when the headache building behind her eyes pulsed angrily. She sighed and looked hopefully at the clock on the wall, smiling faintly when she realized it was nearly five. She stacked her reports neatly on the corner of her desk to be finished in the morning and squinted when she emerged into the sterile brightness of the autopsy room. Kent slid his eyes over to her in concern and quietly wished her a good afternoon. She smiled at him as she slid her pea coat over her shoulders and buttoned it up as she ascended in the elevator to Homicide and walked over to Frankie's desk, where he was scowling at his computer screen.

"Where's Jane?"

"Hello to you, too, Maura."

"My apologies, I am…rather out of sorts right now. How are you, Frankie?"

He looked up at Maura with a crease between his eyes as he noticed the tight lines around Maura's eyes and how she was squinting down at him. "I'm good, just finishing this report up for the night. If you want Jane," he thumbed over his shoulder at the hallway leading to the interrogation rooms, "she's questioning a suspect in room 3."

Maura nodded gratefully at him and squeezed his shoulder in passing. She walked into the viewing room off room 3 and watched through the one way glass as Jane leaned over a greasy looking man intimidatingly. He cowered away from her, eyes fixed on the gruesome pictures laid out before him with horror in his eyes.

"These three guys, what'd they do to you? Come onto you a little strong? Maybe ask if you wanted to dance?"

"I don't – I didn't…"

"No? You didn't go to a _blatantly_ gay nightclub on the evenings of the 22nd, 27th, and 30th, you didn't ask the bartender for a mixed drink each night, and you didn't find these guys and take them out behind the club for a back-alley special?" Jane's voice was mocking as she spoke, her normally whiskey soaked tones more coarse from anger and fatigue. She jabbed a finger at the pictures condescendingly. "Because I have _several_ witnesses who say they saw _you_ take these men by the hand and walk out with them. And I have a knife in Evidence with their blood all over it and your grimy prints on the hilt."

Maura watched in fascination as the man quietly panicked and Jane's expression became victorious. "But that isn't the worst of it." She walked away from the table and faced the glass, almost staring into Maura's eyes as she grinned to herself and watched the man's face fall in the mirror. Maura felt her pulse flutter in her throat and she turned up the volume of the speaker beside her when Jane whirled on her heel in a cloud of unruly hair. "You left something behind when you killed them. It's something we like to call semen, and it shows up under a black light. The best part? You didn't bother cleaning it up, so we got a match on each victim."

"I'm no gay! They wouldn't leave me alone; those filthy faggots coming onto me with their smiles and – erections." He shuddered and slapped his palms on the table. "No one would miss a couple fags!"

Jane's nostrils flared as she rushed forward and grabbed the man's collar to shove him back into his seat. "Look at them! _Look!_ " She dragged his sight down so he could stare into the lifeless faces of the men laid out before him. "They had families, loved ones! What gives you the right to decide that they didn't deserve to live, huh? By whose power do you choose who lives and who dies?"

"The bible says-"

"The bible says a lot of things; it says that stoning is perfectly acceptable, would you like that, since that's the punishment for murder?" He flinched and swallowed hard. Maura ignored the spike of pain behind her eyes in favor of watching Jane tear into the man. "Or would you prefer a proper trial, because I could arrange either."

The man broke beneath her glare and started babbling. Jane rounded the table and sat down, shoulders back and chin high in victory. She read him his rights and led him out of the interrogation room, Maura behind them after she adjusted to the lights in the hallway. She watched Jane hand the man over to an officer and turn, the high of a suspect caught changing to surprise and pleasure when she saw her standing there.

"Maur, what are you doing here still?" She looked at the watch on her wrist. "It's half past five."

"I know. I came to tell you I was headed home and to see if you were coming over."

"Of course I am," Jane said with a smile. "I just have to get some paperwork done before I leave, but I'll text you when I'm heading out." Maura smiled and winced when the overhead lights pierced her eyes painfully. Jane's brow furrowed worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing serious, just a migraine from staring at autopsy reports for too long."

"Jesus, Maura, why haven't you taken anything?"

"I'm heading home now to do that, Jane."

Maura rubbed her forehead and Jane folded her into her arms, kneading the nape of her neck soothingly. Maura felt lips at her temple and nestled further into the brunette with a happy sigh. "I wish you would have told me sooner."

"You couldn't do anything; I have something to help with it at home." Maura reluctantly pulled away and straightened out her coat. "Drive safely, Jane, the roads will be icy tonight."

"I will, mom," Jane said with an affectionate eye roll. Maura squeezed her forearm and left the building, walking across the street to the car park as she fished through her purse for her keys.

She drove to Beacon Hill and left her car on the far side of the driveway so Jane could park next to her. She left the lights off as she walked barefoot through her house and padded upstairs to her bedroom. She rooted through her bedside drawer for a particular artfully stenciled box and pulled it out, sitting on the edge of her bed. The afternoon sunlight barely permeated the room, so deep into winter they were, but it was enough to see the stylized swirls and impressions on the lid of the small container. She pulled a small, sealed bag and paper roll from within and set to methodically rolling the sweet smelling herb in the paper, sealing it with the adhesive on the edge of the strip. An engraved lighter came next out of the coffer, and even that small flame caused her to wince and shut her eyes.

As she lit the end of the joint, she felt her body immediately begin to relax, and with the first inhale, she smiled. She held the smoke for a few seconds before releasing it in a cloud above her head and opened a window on her way into her closet. She changed into more comfortable clothes, joint caught between her lips as she tugged an over-large shirt carefully over her head and let her hair tumble in loose waves over her shoulders. Her yoga pants replaced the skirt she wore and stockings were traded for wooly socks to ward off the chill in her wooden floors.

She wandered downstairs, taking another lazy drag on the joint, and stood in her kitchen with an eye on her stove. "I should make food now," she said to herself. She turned on a light in the adjacent room to provide some light while the weed slowly worked its way through her body and relieved the symptoms of her migraine and pulled some ingredients from her fridge. As she worked over the pan simmering on the stovetop, she hummed and swayed back and forth, taking the occasional hit off the joint and letting the fan above her stove take in the smoke.

She turned on the radio hooked into the Bluetooth of her phone and smiled when, several minutes later, it chirped happily at her. She unlocked it and read Jane's message: **Just left, be there in 20. Picking up wine, any requests?** and giggled quietly as she responded. Maura went upstairs and rolled another joint quickly, then returned to the stove to stir the food. She perked up when she heard her door open, followed by Jane's greeting and the dull thud as she removed her boots and the slide of the drawer opening and shutting as she put her gun, badge and keys in the lockable endtable.

"Maur?"

"In the kitchen!" Maura returned to quietly singing as she watched the food simmer and smiled to herself.

"Mmm, something smells delicious. Any chance I could – Maura? What's that?"

Maura turned her head to find Jane standing in the entryway to the kitchen with a gobsmacked expression on her face. She grinned lazily and turned off the burner before gracefully ensconcing herself within Jane's slack grasp and sighing as she tucked her head beneath her chin. "Mmmmm, hi. I missed you." She nuzzled against her throat and inhaled deeply. "You smell good."

She slid her arms around Jane's waist, bunching her jacket up in her hands in an effort to reach the warm skin beneath her work shirt. When she couldn't get the shirt out of Jane's waistband, she settled for sliding her palms down over the curve of her backside and into her back pockets. She felt Jane jolt in her arms and there were suddenly hands gently pushing her back. She pouted up at the brunette but quickly gave up and walked back to the stove, taking another satisfyingly long drag off the joint she had set in the utensil tray by the stove.

"Is that?..."

"Oh! I'm sorry, did you want some?" Maura flushed and offered the partially smoked roll of pot to Jane, whose eyes grew immensely as she choked on air and waved her hands wildly in the air.

"What! I don't – what?! Maur, you realize that _I am a cop_ , right? I could arrest you for possession, you know?"

Maura stuck her lower lip out a little and swayed in place. "Why would you do that to your best friend? I thought we – we were LLBFFs." She stumbled over the acronym briefly and ended up smiling lazily at Jane's baffled expression. "I thought we had something special."

"You're something special, alright," Jane muttered.

Maura perked up immediately and offered the joint again. "Just try it. Please? The medicinal qualities of marijuana are quite beneficial in small doses-"

"God, even high, you're still a dictionary." Jane rolled her eyes affectionately and took the proffered joint, holding it between two fingers like it was liable to bite her.

Maura giggled and mimicked taking a hit. "You have to hold the smoke for a few seconds."

"I know how a joint works, Maur." Jane eyed it warily and pulled it to her lips, inhaling deeply and immediately choking on the smoke.

Her eyes watered as she passed the joint back to Maura, who idly took a drag and let the smoke float up toward the fan over the stove. Her eyes lit up with an idea and she waited until Jane was finished coughing to ask, "Do you trust me?"

"After that, I'm not so sure."

"Aw, Jane."

Maura pouted a little and Jane caved, groaning theatrically. "Fine, fine! What do you have in mind, Cheech?"

"Come here."

Maura crooked her finger invitingly and watched Jane's skin flush as her eyes widened with curiosity and wariness. She took a long drag and, when Jane was in front of her, reached out to curl her fingers around the back of Jane's neck and drag her head down. Her other hand cupped Jane's cheek as she pressed their lips together, using Jane's surprised grunt to blow the smoke into her mouth and then linger for a second until she felt the brunette pull back a bit. The smoke wafted gently between them as Jane exhaled, long fingers wrapped around Maura's wrist but she didn't push her hands away from her face. When the last of the pungent smoke had dispersed, Maura smiled and turned to the cabinets beside Jane, taking plates down from the shelf as the brunette stood in place against the counter. She moved when Maura gently bumped her hip to get to the silverware and sat silently at the island while the food was set out.

Maura ravenously dug into the meal while Jane picked at it and stole glances through the fall of her hair at the honey blonde. She eventually pushed the plate aside and set her hands flat on the countertop as she leaned forward. "Okay, what in the _blue hell_ was that?"

"Oh, it's quite an easy recipe; I could find it for you if you were interested in making it yourself sometime."

"You _know_ that wasn't what I was talking about," Jane said emphatically. Despite the heat in her cheeks, she pressed her point. "That….thing…with the joint."

Maura lifted the bit left between her fingers and took a short puff, letting the smoke escape her nostrils after a moment. "You _did_ agree to try it…"

"Yeah, and I choked like some blushing virgin on prom night."

Maura giggled as Jane sat back and frowned. "It is…a learning experience, like anything else. Something to be practiced, and honed over time."

"And you have?"

"Hmmm?"

"Mastered this experience?"

Maura shrugged as she offered the remnants toward Jane. "I have partaken of this particular substance enough times to know what I'm doing. I wouldn't say that I've mastered it, by any means." Jane looked at the joint askance and slowly reached out for it. Maura pulled back just a little when Jane's fingers brushed her knuckles and smiled reassuringly at her confused expression. "But just because I'm still learning doesn't mean that I don't know what I like."

She put the end against her lips and waited until comprehension dawned across Jane's face. Long fingers tapped nervously on the countertop before Jane stood up and, for a moment, Maura was afraid she had scared her off. She grinned widely when Jane started to lean across the countertop and took a long, final pull on the joint, then leaned in to meet Jane halfway. Calloused hands slid into her hair as she cupped Jane's jaw and exhaled into her mouth, sharing the pungent smoke between them. Neither noticed it filtering out between them, engrossed in the tentative press of lips and exploration of hands.

Eventually, Maura started giggling and pulled away enough to find Jane's eyes were still closed and her mouth open a little. "Jane," she murmured.

"Hmm?"

Maura bumped their noses together and kissed the corner of Jane's lips. "I want a glazed donut."

Jane choked out a surprised laugh as she pulled back to arch a brow at Maura. "Oh yeah? I think you're high, Maur."

"Mmhmm, maybe a little. But you are as well." Maura grinned. "I want a glazed donut, and then I want to curl up with you on the couch and…what is the colloquialism? Netflix and chill?" She smiled coyly at Jane's sharp inhale as she brushed her knuckles against the brunette's cheek. "Would you like that?"

"I…could get behind that."

"Great! There's this riveting documentary being featured on the effect that over fishing is having on the ocean's predatory populations, I thought we could put it on."

Jane blinked and her mouth gaped open. "I – you're – I think you misunderstood the meaning of 'Netflix and chill.'"

"I never said we were going to _watch_ it, Jane." Maura got up and rounded the edge of the island. She laid her arms over Jane's shoulders and leaned in close. "I thought we might find other, more stimulating activities to engage in on the couch tonight. What do you say?"

Jane's fingers found her hips and kneaded her skin lightly as intent brown eyes stared up at her. "Why don't we skip the documentary and exchange the couch for your bed?"

"That sounds _perfect_. But I still want a donut, first."


End file.
